The present invention relates to a high protein food product and a method of making a high protein food product.
Traditional high protein food sources such as meat, dairy products, legumes and the like have been used by nutritionists to establish consumption levels needed to meet the minimum daily requirements (MDR) for protein in varied diets for adults and children. However, changing work and health patterns of consumers have brought on either the need to lose weight or to gain weight by managing diet through appropriate nutritional intake.
There has been a focus on the need for more exercise for a population that is increasingly latent and the importance of exercise for good health has spawned an increase in interest in sports nutrition as a way to manage body health. Managing body health through appropriate nutritional intake and exercise is accomplished by selective intake of metabolites such as protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals so that goals such as sustained energy availability for intense performance (such as running) or for maximizing muscle mass in bodybuilding goals are achieved.
Maximizing protein intake has been an accepted way for maximizing muscle mass in bodybuilding. A market has been established for products which maximize protein content while minimizing other essential metabolites without putting body health at risk. Products presently on the market include formulated high protein drinks (powdered or a liquid) that are tailored nutritionally for the bodybuilding market. A need for concentrated sources of protein in a convenient form has expanded beyond bodybuilding and other markets have emerged. The expanded interest comes from participants in other sports, children and senior citizens looking for quick energy fixes and sustained muscle builders and muscle repairs.
High protein drink delivery systems have their drawbacks. One is the monotony of consuming a liquid, meal after meal, day after day. In addition, the high protein drink delivery systems on the market today are costly. What is needed is an alternative for delivering a high protein food source that either replaces or supplements the present high protein drink delivery systems.
It has been known to use breakfast cereals as a vehicle to deliver more protein. For example, the Schwab U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,748 describes a method to make a high protein (up to 25%) ready to eat flake breakfast cereal by cooking, extruding, drying and grinding a basic cereal matrix and then blending the resulting product with sodium caseinate, rewetting the mixture and extruding to form pellets, and finally using high pressure rolls to create the flakes.
The Malzahan U.S. Pat. No. 3,852,491 describes the use of high temperature/high pressure (HTHP) extrusion to produce an expanded cereal containing up to 55% protein. Soy protein isolate having up to 90% protein was processed at temperatures in a range of 220.degree. to 355.degree. F. and at pressures in the range from 1000 to 3000 psig. However, it was noted that as the temperature of the extruded dough mass reached 355.degree. F. or higher, a stringy protein fiber-like texture developed. A more cereal-like texture was observed at lower temperatures.
Sander, Bennett and Austin also proposed the use of recently developed twin screw extrusion to prepare breakfast cereals and snacks containing up to 50% protein by combining a farinaceous source such as rice flour with a concentrated protein source such as soy protein isolate (90% protein). Fabrication of Low Moisture, High Protein Foods Using Soy Isolates and HTST Twin Screw Extrusion, Chemistry of Foods and Beverages, Academic Press, Inc. (1982) p. 251.
HTHP extrusion has received much attention as a means of physically changing vegetable proteins particularly soy into textured particulates which when rehydrated with water resemble ground beef. Numerous patents have been issued covering such technology to produce meat analogs. This technology has been commercialized, and textured soy proteins are commonly used for ground beef extenders and in such products as meatless vegetarian burgers.